This started after Municipality Committee Sopore with the help of police started a drive to vacate the hundreds of vendors from streets and footpaths. The street vendors resorted to heavy stone-pelting while the police used tear-smoke shells to disperse them.

According to reports municipality employees and police party started a extensive anti-encroachment drive in some areas of Sopore town. The areas included Iqbal Market, General Bus Stand and Main Chowk.

During the drive, the vendors whose goods were seized by the anti- enforcement team staged demonstrations against police and municipality officials. The vendors pelted stones on police and raised slogans against them.

Traffic came to standstill while shopkeepers downed their shutters. Police used tear-gas shells to disperse the protestors.

Executive Officer, Sopore Municipality Abdul Latif said the Committee will not allow these vendors to make general public suffer. “We will rehabilitate those vendors who are on our records and ensure that nobody encroaches the road as it hampers traffic movement,” he said.

SRINAGAR, Dec 18: National Conference (NC) today said chief minister Omar Abdullah will not contest from Ganderbal constituency in the forthcoming assembly elections.
National Conference additional general secretary, Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal told a local news agency, CNS that Peoples Democratic Party is trying to give an impression that Omar is scared of facing people in Ganderbal which is totally baseless.
He said Omar Abdullah provided all sorts of facilities to the people of Ganderbal a